That's the predicament the LDS Church faces at City Creek Center, the huge project that will redevelop the two blocks previously occupied by the ZCMI Center and Crossroads Plaza in downtown Salt Lake City. Those two blocks are divided by Main Street, with a Utah Transit Authority TRAX line running down the center of it. The street cuts the new development in half.

To bridge that gap, the church wants to build, well, a bridge. It would span Main Street above the overhead electrical lines of TRAX, so that shoppers could walk easily from one half of the mall to the other on its second level.

The bridge would unify the project. There would be one mall, not two. That would be good for the retailers at City Creek, which means that it would be good for Salt Lake City, for its downtown core and for its tax base.

But there's a problem. A pedestrian bridge over Main Street would violate current city policy, which bans so-called sky bridges on specific downtown streets, including Main. The reason for the policy, which is part of the city's master plan, is to protect the mountain vistas that are a distinguishing feature of Salt Lake City.

That's a wise policy, and the city should retain it as a general rule. But in this case, the city government should make an exception. The reason - integrating the $1 billion-plus City Creek Center project and thereby revitalizing two critical blocks of downtown - is compelling.

Moreover, in this particular instance, the preservation of a mountain vista is not a major consideration. If Main Street were aligned with the major peaks of the Wasatch or Oquirrh ranges, it would be. But it's not.

While a bridge would obscure the view north up Main toward Ensign Peak, that mountain is a mere hill by Wasatch standards, and certainly is not picturesque. The view south down Main, constricted by tall buildings, reveals only Point of the Mountain, and that at great distance.

Planners have considered alternatives. A subterranean tunnel beneath Main would not be attractive to shoppers; it would be the opposite of the open-air feeling of the City Creek Center, which will open the blocks to sunlight and outdoor water features.

Another option, closing Main to cars and trucks, would further strangle downtown's traffic just as City Creek draws more people downtown.

The sky bridge is the best choice.

Nevertheless, critics of the proposed bridge argue that it would focus pedestrian traffic on an east-west axis through City Creek Center's core and would discourage foot traffic down Main Street and toward the larger downtown beyond 100 South. They say the whole project is a plot to capture shoppers and keep them from going elsewhere.

That criticism is overblown. One of the development's three anchor department stores, Macy's, will face Main, employing the historic ZCMI iron facade. A second, Dillard's, will face on 100 South between Main and State, and will have a second access onto Main. Restaurants also will face Main. Nordstrom will face West Temple.

On 100 South between Main and West Temple, a waterfall will beckon visitors to 100 South, and a restaurant also will face that street. All of the street-facing, ground-floor spaces in City Creek's residential buildings will house retail.

The design turns itself inside-out to the surrounding streets.

But the developers are right that the bridge over Main is integral to City Creek Center's design. The city government should create a policy compromise that will accommodate it.